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The differences between social media managers and social media directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 8-10 years to become a social media manager, becoming a social media director takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a social media director has an average salary of $70,846, which is higher than the $70,287 average annual salary of a social media manager.
The top three skills for a social media manager include instagram, twitter and digital marketing. The most important skills for a social media director are facebook insights, instagram, and twitter.
| Social Media Manager | Social Media Director | |
| Yearly salary | $70,287 | $70,846 |
| Hourly rate | $33.79 | $34.06 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 105,475 | 39,016 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 79% | Bachelor's Degree, 80% |
| Average age | 39 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 4 |
Social media managers are responsible for representing the company's business through social media channels. They help the company grow by enhancing its presence via social networks. Primarily, they need to implement marketing plans and identify their target clients and create a content schedule. Their duties include implementing and strategizing digital marketing campaigns. They support the development of brand identity and promotional strategies. Candidates for the job must be excellent in communication skills, have in-depth knowledge of how social platforms work, and easily understand the target audience.
Social Media Directors are responsible for the promotion of an organization's brand, services, and products through social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. They are responsible for implementing a social media strategy, tracking social media presence, keeping abreast of social media trends, and adopting new social media channels. Other duties include measuring Twitter activity, analyzing traffic patterns, assessing Facebook comments, and inspecting reception levels of social media messages. They contribute to creating progress reports, providing feedback to management, and contributing to strategy improvements.
Social media managers and social media directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Social Media Manager | Social Media Director | |
| Average salary | $70,287 | $70,846 |
| Salary range | Between $50,000 And $98,000 | Between $40,000 And $124,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Idaho |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Accenture |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Internet |
There are a few differences between a social media manager and a social media director in terms of educational background:
| Social Media Manager | Social Media Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 79% | Bachelor's Degree, 80% |
| Most common major | Communication | Communication |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between social media managers' and social media directors' demographics:
| Social Media Manager | Social Media Director | |
| Average age | 39 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.9% Female, 61.1% | Male, 42.8% Female, 57.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 5.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 74.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 16% |